A/N: Please vote and/or comment if you enjoy! People might be a bit OOC.

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Chapter One: Worthless
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Bang.

And then a pained scream.

Before anyone could react, the bullet had hit Robin square in the chest. The force knocked him down to the ground, mercilessly. He could barely hear the desperate shouts from his teammates as his vision went blurry and his ears starting ringing.

He clutched a gloved hand to his chest, trying to apply pressure with the small amount of strength he had. Crimson liquid flowed freely through his fingers.

Before he lost consciousness, he could see the hazy figures of five worried teens standing above him.

---
Mount Justice
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When his eyes fluttered open, he was met with immediate pain in his chest. Dick tried to sit up, but the wound started flaring, and he fell back down in the bed he was laying on.

Dick's eyes now wide open, he took in his surroundings. He was in the medical bay of Mount Justice, alone.

Alone.

Apparently no one cared enough to stay with him.

Considering the amount of dried blood covering the sheets on the bed, he assumed things hadn't gone well since he was shot.

Dick was startled by a knock on the door. "Come in."

"You okay, dude?" Wally asked, a grim look on his face. He was still in his uniform.

"Y-yeah. Just sore I guess." Dick replied, avoiding his gaze.

Wally walked in, and sat in a chair next to the bed. "You sure?" He asked thoughtfully, trying to read his best friend- but he couldn't... Robin was too unreadable.

However, Wally could be read like a book.

"Wally... I know I shouldn't have gotten shot. I'm not a little kid okay? I'll be fine."

"Dude I get its hard being human. I'm not trying to make you feel worthless. I just care." The redhead countered.

Worthless. Dick hated that word.

"So... What exactly happened?" Dick asked Wally, who seemed to stiffen.

"Uh... After you were... Shot... You blacked out. We got you to Mount Justice barely in time. You lost so much blood. You needed a blood transfusion. They got the bullet out, but considering how long it took it wasn't an easy task. I'm surprised it didn't take longer. We were told to stay out of the med bay, so... That's what we've been doing for the past 6 hours. You needed rest." Wally explained, twiddling his fingers.

Robin hated when he did that. Whenever Wally was nervous or uncomfortable, he would twiddle his fingers against his hand, as if he was trying to distract himself.

Wally didn't know what to say. Dick just looked at him blankly, as if getting shot was nothing. It bugged him.

"The fact that you almost died doesn't bother you?" He snapped, his voice darkening a bit.

"It's part of this life, Wally. I made the choice to be Robin... I'm gonna die sooner or later." Dick pointed out, trying to ignore the sour look on his friend's face.

The speedster rose from the seat. "Bro! Don't talk like that!"

"You're a hero too. You should know this by now." Dick replied harshly, his eyes narrowing.

When Dick became Robin, he expected it to be fun. And it was... Crime fighting with the World's Greatest Detective. He couldn't ask for more.

As he got older, the baddies got worse- and more deadly. Robin started to get more injuries, and get into dangerous situations. He had already created a long list of excuses for his injuries, in case someone in his personal life questioned him. Robin started to experience minor injuries every other day, and eventually started hiding it from his team. Sometimes they would hear him wince, or give a pained yelp when he took a hit during training. They never asked about it.

Dick wanted his teammates to think he was worth being a hero. He couldn't take any risks.

Besides- he didn't have much longer. One of these days, one of the bad guys would have to get lucky, and finally kill the Boy Wonder.

"Rob. Stop talking like that."

"How's everyone else doing?" Robin asked.

Wally fought the urge to roll his eyes when he noticed Dick trying to change the subject. However, the injured boy sat still on the bed, staring at the speedster with a blank expression. The kid was great at hiding his emotions.

He sighed. "They're alright. Super worried 'bout you. Want me to go get them?"

"Ye-"

"No." Batman interrupted, walking into the medical room.

Wally shifted over as Batman walked over to where his protege was, standing next to the bed. His eyes scanned the blood covered sheets.

"Wallace, can you find clean sheets?" Batman asked- more like ordered. Wally nodded his head in understanding, and quickly left the medical bay.

Batman pulled his cowl over his head, now becoming Bruce Wayne. "Are you alright, Dick?"

"Fine." He replied briefly, bringing his hand up to his forehead.

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

There was a small uncomfortable pause, as if neither knew what to say.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Sorry for not being here. I was on a league mission."

"Of course."

Dick wouldn't deny the fact that him and Bruce weren't as close as they used to be. Now that Dick was getting older and both played a role in their own teams, their bond weakened a bit. They had gotten into small arguments more often, and Bruce noticed that Robin's stubbornness was really taking it's toll.

Wally reentered the room with folded white bed sheets in his arms, closing the door carefully behind him. "I'm back! I told the team no visiting. I know you need your rest Rob."

Dick moved over on the bed a bit, so that Wally could pull them off. Dick then struggled to stand, using the wall for his support.

"Dude. You don't have to get up if you don't want to." Wally pointed out.

"It's fine." Dick sighed, overwhelmed by Bruce's worried gaze.

When the speedster fixed up the bed, he patted it overdramatically, and smiled. "All set."

"Thank you, Wallace. I need to talk to Dick alone."

"That's my cue." Wally said casually, exiting the room once again.

When Bruce saw the door close shut, he turned back to his protege. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. When you feel more comfortable I can take you back to the manor."

Dick did miss Alfred. Going back to the manor sounded fine.

"Sounds good. 'Night."

Bruce gave a small smile (which he rarely did often) and pulled back on his cowl. "Ask Canary or Wally if you need anything. Both are staying at Mount Justice tonight for your sake."

"I'll be sure to thank them." Dick replied groggily, his head falling back against the back of the bed. His eyelids drooped a bit, until they finally closed.

Batman noticed the sound of his even breathing, and decided that was his cue. So, he left, making sure to be quiet as doing so.

---
Two and a half months later
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Because of the bullet wound, Dick had been M.I.A. For the past two and a half months he had begged Bruce to let him visit Mount Justice, insisting he was fine.

"Bruce. Please."

"No Dick."

"But why?"

"I've told you this too many times- if you go to Mount Justice, you'll be bored. Besides, the team is undergoing training, and watching them would probably be miserable for you. You'll see them training, and want to join in. You still need to recover, that bullet wound was a close call." Bruce explained, not taking his eyes off of the bat-computer. Dick was standing next to him, sulking.

The boy groaned. "You really think they'd let me train anyways? Sure, Connor isn't even a year old and Megan isn't from Earth, but they aren't dumb. Please?"

"No."

"Urghh!"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "You sound like a teenage girl." Dick crossed his arms and scrunched his nose at that statement.

Dick sighed, trying to gain his mentor's attention. However the man continued to pull up different files and articles, regarding his current investigation.

There had been a recent bombing of an industrial incorporation in Gotham, that had killed and injured many. The company was small, but widespread in the northeastern region of the United States, where the country's industries were commonly found. What surprised both Bruce and Dick is that a small company had been bombed. Normally it was the more important places that were attacked, so why a low key steel factory?

All that mattered was that there were people in danger. Bruce suspected that the next factory under the same name in New York would most likely be bombed next.

"Are you sending the team on a mission there?" Dick asked, glancing over the news articles.

Bruce rubbed his chin with thought. "I'm not quite sure."

"Why not? They can handle it." The younger boy pointed out, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't think it's just some simple bombing, Dick. It's too unusual."

"I know, but whoever's behind it is probably some villain that we know. No biggie."

"Never underes-"

"Never underestimate your opponents! I know Bruce." Dick interrupted.

Bruce sighed. To say that Dick was impatient would be an understatement. He was constantly on his tail, bugging him about going to Mount Justice.

"Dick."

"Yeah?"

"Go to Mount Justice for training." Bruce said, taking a deep breath.

"Yes! Thank you!" Dick exclaimed, running towards the zeta tube.

Bruce turned around in his seat. "Wait."

Dick stopped in his tracks and spun quickly, his gaze now moved to his mentor. "Yes Bruce, I'll be careful. And yes, if there is anything wrong or if I don't feel well, I'll come right back. Promise."

Bruce nodded and turned back around, and his protege headed back towards the zeta tube, the light engulfing his slim form.

---
Mount Justice
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The zeta tubes announced the Boy Wonder's arrival. He was instantly met with Wally's presence.

"Hey, dude! Feeling better?" The speedster greeted, dressed in civvies.

Robin cackled. "Yep! Feelin' the aster."

A few seconds later the rest of the team walked into the debriefing room, along with Zatanna, dressed in their civilian clothing as well. Artemis smirked.

"Looks like "KF" missed his boyfriend." The archer joked, holding in a laugh when she saw both of their annoyed expressions.

"Robin. Batman said you needed at least three months of recovery time. What brings you here?" Kaldur asked suspiciously.

An excited grin formed on the Boy Wonder's face. "Training."

Superboy and Megan shared nervous glances, and Kaldur sighed. "Very well." He replied, ushering all of the teens to the sparring area.

"When will Black Canary get here?" Zatanna asked.

"Yeah, when will Canary be here to see the Wall-Man?" Wally asked playfully, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Cut it out, Kid Idiot!" Artemis snapped, and the team leader gave both of them a harsh glare. Wally put his hands up in defense, and Robin scoffed.

The zeta tubes announced the arrival of Black Canary. She walked out onto the floor, giving all the teens a welcoming smile. "Good afternoon everyone. Ready for training?"

Everyone replied with "yep" or a nod.

"Robin. You're back." Canary pointed out with uncertainty.

"Before you kill me, know that Batman gave me permission." Robin said quickly.

"How do we know that you didn't disobey him?" Canary questioned.

Robin laughed. "We all know nothing gets by him."

"Good point Robin." She answered with a smirk. The heroine put her hands on her hips, and moved her glance to the rest of the teenagers. "Would anyone like to start off?"

"M'gann, would you like to spar with me first?" Kaldur asked kindly, and the Martian gave a confident nod.

The two walked onto the training floor, getting into their fighting stances.

"No powers. Begin." Black Canary commanded, and the duo began to dodge kicks and punches very fluently.

Aqualad and Miss Martian sparred for a few minutes, until the team leader finally got the upper hand. Megan threw a sloppy punch, considering she was getting tired. Kaldur grabbed her fist and used the momentum to flip her over easily. She landed on the ground with a thud, and the red letters spelling out "fail" came up on a hologram.

"Very good." The female leaguer commented as Kaldur and Megan stepped off of the training floor.

Wally walked up to the training floor, a confident grin on his face. "Hey Rob, wanna spar?"

Robin then walked up to Wally with a straight posture, crossing his arms. "You're going down."

"Pfft. Says the guy who shouldn't even be at training. Oh, the joys of having super healing! Being a speedster is fun!" The redhead taunted, his confidence declining a bit when he didn't see one hint of anger on Robin's features.

"If you say so." Robin replied, readying himself. Wally did the same, getting into a fighting stance.

"No powers- ehem- Wally. You may begin." Canary ordered.

Robin attacked first, and Wally easily dodged. The speedster counter attacked, but the acrobat casually flipped over him, kicking him from behind. Luckily for Wally, the force wasn't enough to push the speedster to the ground. Wally quickly turned to face his opponent and attempted to swipe Robin off of his feet. The Boy Wonder simply jumped, landing gracefully back on his feet. Instantly, he tried to kick the speedster, but only made himself vulnerable. Wally ducked and swung his fist into Robin's chest, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Dude! You okay?!" His friend asked with worry.

They all noticed the small cry of pain he gave when he was hit. They all noticed his wince, and how his face was filled with pain.

But of course he said it.

"I'm fine."

"Robin, are you alright?" Megan asked with worry.

The teens tried to ignore the anger radiating off of Black Canary. They weren't surprised she hid her emotions well- they were glad she wasn't flying off the handle.

"Take care of Robin. I need to have a talk with Batman." She said, putting plenty of emphasis on "talk."

Then, the zeta tubes announced her departure.

The team leader spoke up. "Robin, maybe it was not a good idea to come back so soon."

"It been two and a half months. I think I'm fine." He countered with a harsh tone.

"You think you're fine? Look at you! One punch and you can barely breathe!" Superboy nearly yelled, pointing his finger at the smaller boy.

"I know I'm fine!" Robin yelled back, his anger showing.

"No you aren't! Then again, you are just a human. We all heal faster than you." The clone snapped.

Artemis stepped into the argument. "Hey?! I'm human too! What's that supposed to mean, huh?!"

"Guys stop!" Wally shouted, but no one listened to him.

"So what if you heal faster?! That means you get hit more than I do!"

"Maybe cause I actually fight!"

"You call ripping your shirt off fighting? That's cute. Got any shirts left by the way?!"

"Yeah, I got plenty. At least I don't wear tights!"

"ENOUGH!" Kaldur shouted at the top of his lungs, quieting the argument. Robin and Superboy still glared daggers at eachother, their eyes locked.

"Robin, Kaldur is right. You need to take more time off." Wally said firmly, and Zatanna nodded behind him.

Kaldur turned his gaze back to Robin, and the Boy Wonder replied. "Alright, boss-man."

And then he walked off towards the zeta tubes.

Before the light engulfed his body, Robin heard Connor's gruff voice.

"At least I'm not worthless." He heard the clone say.

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To be continued...